Wireless technology is currently becoming increasingly popular, including being integrated into many types of devices that need to convey information only intermittently, and that have been previously networked, if at all, via hardwired communication channels. For example, wireless technology has now been integrated into many home monitoring systems, including transducers that indicate the security of doors and windows, home security video cameras which may transmit data primarily upon the detection of motion in their field of view, and weather monitoring equipment. Wireless technology is, of course, also increasingly popular in portable communication devices, such as cellular telephones and smartphones.
Another popular application of wireless communication technology is the Personal Emergency Response System (PERS) market, which has been estimated to have approximately one billion dollars in annual North American sales. A typical PERS system in a residence includes a base station that facilitates voice communication between one or multiple portable, wireless transceivers, on the one hand, and automatically called parties, on the other hand, such as a family member, an emergency services operator, or a private monitoring service. Such communication is typically initiated by a user, who wears a portable communications transceiver in the form of a PERS pendant, and who operates the device by pressing a “call” or “panic button of the transceiver in the event of an emergency.
As remote and portable wireless transceivers are typically battery operated, there is a significant desire to reduce their power consumption, in order to reduce the frequency with which the device's batteries must be recharged or replaced. One approach to reducing power consumption and extending battery life is device power management, whereby most or all of a device may be turned off, or placed in a low-power sleep or standby mode of operation, particularly for devices that require only intermittent communication with a base station, with the communication being initiated by the mobile device on either on a periodic or an on-demand basis, such as, for example, a PERS pendent or other mobile device, which may autonomously transition from a low-power sleep or standby mode to a transmit-only operational mode, wherein the radio transmitter portion of its transceiver is temporarily powered while the radio receiver portion of its transceiver remains unpowered, to perform a “check in” operation by transmitting a predetermined signal or message once every predetermined time period such as, for example, once every approximately thirteen hours.
As a result, these low-power wireless devices are commonly out of communication with their base station for extended periods of time. This frequent inaccessibility inhibits the ability of the base station to perform certain desirable functions, such as assisting in the locating of misplaced portable transceivers, and remotely updating the settings or operational programming of the portable transceivers.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and a method for locating a misplaced low-power wireless communication device.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and a method for remotely updating the settings of a low-power wireless communication device.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and a method for remotely updating the operational programming of a low-power wireless communication device.
These and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed disclosure, taken in conjunction with the accompanying sheets of drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like parts.